BRR, small Bark inclusion in bottom inside of bowl

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Yesterday, I turned a bowl from red elm that grew at Wheatland, President Buchanan's home. The bowl is 7 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep. I cut the bowl to depth and had a fairly good curve following the outside, just shallower. I stopped the lathe and there is a small bark inclusion on the bowl interior which is not there on the bottom exterior. The wall thickness if 3/8 as well as the bottom. I can not really go deeper in hopes that I will get beneath the inclusion. It is about 7/16 of an inch round. I can: 1. treat it with sealer and let it as it is and finish the bowl 2. cut a shallow hole and fill it with a plug, then finish the bowl. (I have plug cutters) 3. drill all the way through and install a plug. I suppose leaving it natural would be best. Don't know how a plug would look, even if from the same wood and I tried to match the grain color and direction. Suggestions?

[jared herbert]

What I would do and have done several times in that same situation, just fill and stabilize the inclusion with superglue and then sand and finish. It will prolly require several applications of glue. I always spray on a little lacquer on the area I am glueing to avoid staining the surrounding good wood. Works for me.

[roger wiegand]

Treat it as a feature rather than a bug. Patches always look like patches. Stabilize with CA or thin epoxy and call it part of the natural beauty of the wood.

[Thomas Canfield]

To add to Jared and Roger, coffee grounds usually work as filler for bark. Using the lacquer, then fill, some thin CA and finally med or thick CA will fill a small void or bark seam to allow for sanding and produce a smooth surface. The thin CA first allows the thicker CA to wick into the void areas better rather than just using the thicker CA alone.